In This Article

The entourage effect suggests that when extracted as an isolate, the effects of CBD are more limited than when they’re administered together with other naturally occurring compounds in the hemp plant. This article answers questions such as:

  • What is the entourage effect?
  • Why is it important?
  • What is the science supporting the theory? 

The Way Mother Nature Intended

It doesn’t take a genius to work out that CBD hemp flower is a great source of CBD, but there’s a lot more to it than that. Hemp flower, as Mother Nature intended it, contains over 100 different types of cannabinoids (CBD, CBG, CBN, Delta-8 THC, Delta-9 THC etc.), as well as many other plant compounds.

Smokable hemp flower is premium quality CBD flower that presents users with the opportunity to smoke CBD and benefit from all the other naturally occurring elements in the plant at the same time, as opposed to many CBD products that isolate the CBD compound away from the rest.

The reason we should all be favoring whole flower compounds is that evidence suggests that it’s actually more beneficial due to what is referred to as the entourage effect.

If you don’t know your entourage effect from your elbow then this short blog is for you and will hemp you to choose your CBD products more wisely in the future.

hemp farm

What is the Entourage Effect?

The entourage effect is the suggested mechanism by which the true potential of CBD is best achieved when working in synergy with the other naturally occurring compounds in the cannabis plant.

The term was originally coined back in 1998 by the don of cannabis research, Dr Raphael Mechoulam who has been studying the plant for over 50 years. What Dr Mechoulam proposed was that all of the compounds found in the plant (including other cannabinoids, chlorophyll, fatty acids, terpenes, and flavonoids) had a role to play in the medicinal effects of the plant.

Could Mother Nature really be such a perfect architect? We don’t doubt it.

Cannabis Synergy: What We Know

As you can imagine, scientific studies involving any type of cannabinoid have been far and few between, due to cannabis prohibition.

Luckily however, the medicinal use of cannabinoids has achieved worldwide interest and several groundbreaking studies have pushed their way through the prohibition net.

Dr Mechoulam’s research back in 1998 supported his theory of the entourage effect when he proved that fatty acids within cannabis and hemp helped certain cannabinoids bind with our body’s cannabinoid receptors. This is why high-fat edibles tend to be more popular than lower-fat alternatives (it’s not just because we all love cake).

More recently, a team of scientists set out to see if the entourage effect could increase CBD’s effectiveness as an anti inflammatory. They noticed that the previous 15 years of preclinical research in this area was all conducted using single molecule CBD.

Focusing on the anti-inflammatory effects of CBD in various animal models with multiple sclerosis, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease, they noticed that purified CBD appeared to elicit a bell-shaped response curve time and time again.

The efficacy of single molecule CBD was peaking within a limited dose range meaning that administering too much CBD had similar therapeutic effects to administering too little. You can probably guess what happened next.

Yep, by conducting animal studies with whole plant extract CBD, the dosage cap was removed and the results revealed that the more whole plant CBD they administered, the better the effects were.

A 2011 study by Russo and Guy highlighted another interesting synergy that occurs when both THC and CBD cannabinoids are allowed to work together. It was shown that CBD boosted the clinical efficacy of THC and also revealed that CBD acts as a neuroprotectant for THC by antagonizing many of the adverse effects of THC and thereby reducing feelings of intoxication and sedation.

The Benefits of Smokable Hemp Flower

The existence of the entourage effect just goes to show that quite often nature works best when just left alone to do its thing. Smokable hemp flower presents one of the simplest and most reliable ways of taking CBD and ensures that you’ll benefit from the whole plant entourage effect.

The lack of regulation within the CBD market is a favorite topic for scaremongers, but when you’re buying CBD flower you can have complete confidence in the fact that cannabinoids and other compounds are all present and correct in the quantities as prescribed by Mother Nature.

At Green Unicorn Farms we hunt down the cleanest, richest, most aromatic CBD hemp flower available in the U.S. to provide you with a superior experience.

Whether you choose to make your own CBD joints or try one of our hemp pre-rolls, we can deliver our premium hemp flower straight to your door.

You can even use our hemp flower as a tobacco alternative to mix with your marijuana joints to help reduce their intoxicating effects, while enjoying double the cannabinoid benefits.

Want to feel the entourage effect in action?

To truly feel the entourage effect in action you you can try one of our Flower Sample Packs or Build Your Own Bundle and consume a few different strains in one sitting.

When you smoke one strain your effects will peak at a certain point when the same cannabinoids, terpenes and flavonoids cannot increase the effects that you are feeling. If at that point you change to another strain, you will unlock new effects as the change in the strain composition hits new receptors in your brain.

Repeat this process with 2, 3 or even 4 strains and you will feel a truly unique effect that wouldn’t be possible without the entourage effect.

showing the cbd hemp flower

Nature Knows Best…

The more that hemp is studied, the more it seems to be a miracle of nature and it’s making tidal waves in the world of medicine.

The cannabinoids, terpenes, fatty acids, flavonoids… It appears that every single compound is there for a reason and that the sum of the plant is far greater than its individual elements when broken down.

Smokable hemp flower provides you with the ultimate CBD delivery package, just as nature intended. And did we mention the superior quality experience you get from smoking CBD? We hunt down the best indoor, greenhouse, and outdoor CBD flower from the most experienced hemp growers in the U.S. and we only share what’s worth smoking.

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About Hayley Smith

Hayley is passionate about all things hemp and has been a strong advocate for CBD for over a decade. As a former marijuana farmer and smoker, she knows a thing or two about cannabis and is constantly on the lookout for new research from around the world regarding her favorite plants.